Various display devices are equipped for both mono and stereo viewing. Unlike mono viewing, stereo viewing involves the display of separate content for the right and left human eye. Specifically, such stereo viewing requires the presentation of a left image to the left human eye and a right image to the right human eye. Numerous technologies are capable of providing such stereo viewing.
For example, in some display systems a polarizing layer is included as a component of a display screen for polarizing even scan lines of the display screen in a first direction specific to a lens of passive glasses worn over an eye of a viewer, such that the eye of the viewer is capable of viewing the even scan lines and not the odd scan lines. Similarly, the polarizing layer polarizes odd scan lines of the display screen in a second direction opposite the first direction which is specific to a lens of the passive glasses worn over the other eye of the viewer, such that the other eye of the viewer is capable of viewing the odd scan lines and not the even scan lines. However, as a result of dedicating odd scan lines to one image and even scan lines to another image, the images are provided in half the resolution of the display screen. Additional limitations of this technique includes some textual elements being visible only for one eye and some being visible only for the other eye, making text hard to read, a limited vertical viewing angle (i.e. mid-screen) for the viewer in order to avoid ghosting, and high cost due to the required precision of alignment of the polarizing layer with the pixel structure of the display screen (i.e. to ensure that the correct scan lines are polarized as intended).
In the alternative, other display systems may implement time sequential display of stereo content, such that left and right images are presented in an alternating manner. With respect to such display systems, the viewer wears active shutter glasses in which a shutter of each lens of the glasses may be independently controlled. In particular, when an image intended for viewing by a left eye of the viewer is displayed, the active shutter glasses are controlled to open a shutter of a left lens of the glasses and to close a shutter of a right lens of the glasses, such that the left eye is capable of viewing the image and the right eye is prevented from viewing the image. Similarly, when an image intended for viewing by a right eye of the viewer is displayed, the active shutter glasses are controlled to open a shutter of a right lens of the glasses and to close a shutter of a left lens of the glasses, such that the right eye is capable of viewing the image and the left eye is prevented from viewing the image.
While the display systems involving active shutter glasses provide full resolution images, and thus do not have the half resolution problem of the polarization techniques mentioned above, the active shutter glasses themselves have conventionally been expensive, require a battery, are heavier than passive glasses, and have been limited style-wise. There is thus a need for addressing these and/or other issues associated with the prior art.